OpenAI missed its own deadline of 2025 for a tool that would have allowed photographers to exclude their works from the company’s data.
In May, OpenAI announced that it was developing a tool called Media Manager, which would “identify copied text, images and audio files.” The program was designed to calm some of the company’s critics and protect it from its numerous copyright disputes.
However, there is no news about Media Manager. One former OpenAI employee told TechCrunch that they didn’t think it was a company priority. “To be honest I don’t recall anyone working on it,” says the anonymous employee.
After DALL-E 3, OpenAI’s image-generator, was announced, the company announced that photography could opt out of AI-training data. OpenAI stated at the time that it understood that some content creators may not want to have their publicly available work used to teach our models.
But the photographers had to submit every piece of work that they wanted excluded along with detailed descriptions. It was a cumbersome and time-consuming process.
Media Manager would also place the burden on creators to remove work, which Ed Newton-Rex of Fairly Trade says is unfair. “Most creators won’t even hear about it let alone use it,” says Ed Newton-Rex TechCrunch.“But it will still be used to justify the mass exploitation against creators’ desires.”
The issue of AI and training data has been a thorny one for many photographers and content producers of all stripes. They feel aggrieved when their work is used to create products without permission or remuneration.
At first, Media Manager was marketed as a solution to these problems. It offered photographers a simple way to opt out. OpenAI, despite announcing a deadline “by 2025″has stopped mentioning Media Manager. A spokesperson told TechCrunch that the tool is “still in development” in August.
According to TechCrunch, Media Manager is a ambitious project. He notes that large platforms such as YouTube and TikTok have difficulty with content ID systems. Andrian Cyhan, of Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, says that ensuring compliance with legal requirements for creator protections as well as potential compensation requirements is a challenge. “Especially when the legal landscape is rapidly changing and could diverge between national and local jurisdictions,” says Andrian Cyhan from Stubbs Alderton & Markiles.
Image credit: The header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
PetaPixel’s articles may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something after clicking on such a link PetaPixel could earn a commission.
